A Nobody's Tale of Love and Loss
by Alasora
Summary: A classic Akuroku story, set in the Castle that Never Was, during Roxas's time in the Organization. Axel and Roxas finally acknowledge their feelings for each other but something arises that threatens to ruin their relationship forever...
1. Chapter 1

First Chapter! It starts somewhat abruptly -- setting Axel's "room" in the Castle that Never Was. Enjoy!

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Axel

"Why didn't you tell me?" Roxas glared at me from the doorway, arms folded, a confused and slightly annoyed expression on his face. I went over in my mind all the things he could possibly be talking about, while stuttering a weak, "What do you mean?" Could he have finally found out what my real feelings for him were?

"You know perfectly well what I mean, Axel," he retorted, rolling his eyes. "Now my reputation has been tainted." What? My stomach felt like it dropped ten stories. This was worse than I had expected.

"I–I didn't tell you–because–"

Roxas looked at me expectantly.

"I didn't want things to be…awkward."

"Awkward? Why would it have been awkward?"

"Well–wait–so you don't mind?"

"I _do_ mind that you didn't tell me when you were supposed to. But I don't really see why things would have been awkward."

Supposed to? How was there a time when I was supposed to tell him my feelings? I had to clarify things once and for all. I swallowed, gathering my courage, then asked, "So, how do you, uh, feel about me–y'know and–you…" I trailed off, not knowing quite how to put it.

Roxas looked rather puzzled. Then in exasperation, he said, "All I know is that now the Superior is mad at me for skiving off that mission. But how was I supposed to know, if you were the one who was in charge of telling me?"

"Wait, what? What mission?" I replied, now extremely confused. "What are you talking about?"

"The same thing we have been discussing for the past minute or so! What else would I be talking about?" Roxas looked about ready to explode. That was when it clicked in my brain that Xemnas had told me to give a last minute mission to Roxas–and I had completely forgotten to tell him! And this whole time I had thought he had found out that I more or less loved him…how the hell was I going to dig myself out of this one?

"Hello-o! Earth to Axel!"

"Um…well then. To tell you the truth–I uh had completely forgotten to tell you about that mission," I managed, laughing awkwardly.

"Well, why didn't you tell me that when I first asked? Are you okay, Axel?" I was surprised to see a hint of concern on his befuddled face. Was it possible that he also…? No…

"You know what–I actually don't think I'm feeling too good…" I said, putting a hand to my stomach.

"I didn't know that nobodies could get sick," Roxas joked. Then he grew serious again. "Axel, what's wrong? Why can't you just tell me what's going on?"

I looked at his unhappy face and was overwhelmed by my desire to embrace him. I was just so afraid of how he would respond. It could ruin our perfect friendship…that was the last thing I wanted to have happen.

"I just can't tell you, okay?" I said, my voice breaking. I ran a nervous hand through my hair, praying silently that he wouldn't persist.

"What could possibly be such a big deal that we can't talk about it?" Roxas demanded, growing angry again.

I bit my lip, fighting back tears. "It's Organization business and I'm not aloud to talk about it," I fabricated, realizing at once how ridiculous it sounded. Roxas wasn't falling for it, and said in a quiet but biting tone, "Fine then." And he left the room angrier than he had come.

I buried my head in my hands, fighting as best I could the wracking sobs that threatened to tear through my body. Why could I not bring myself to tell him? I had probably made things far worse than if I'd just let him know how I felt.

I resolved to find some way to let him know, and at least clear up this argument of misunderstandings. I just couldn't bear knowing that he was mad at me.

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Roxas

I sat down heavily on my bed and exhaled. Axel's distraught face still lingered in my mind, and I clenched my fist subconsciously. It was even harder to be mad at him when he was my best friend–or maybe something more…but I would never dream of admitting that to him–or anyone, for that matter. Why was he suddenly keeping things from me? We had always been able to talk about things–even topics that we were forbidden to discuss. We never kept anything from each

other.

But what was this all of a sudden? Supposedly, he forgot to tell me about the mission. But was there some other reason behind it? There seemed to be something else involved in this too…what could be so important that Axel wouldn't talk about it?

I let out a sound of frustration and flopped onto my back. I stared up at the rising abyss, the mysterious light that faded away into black in the never-ending ceiling. I let my mind wander, and soon fell into a dreamless sleep.

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I always end chapters with people falling asleep...what a cop-out! Oh well, sorry. Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter is about twice as long as the first...and hopefully twice as good! Enjoy! (Sorry it switches point of view so much...but I think it makes it more interesting)

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_F L A S H B A C K_

"_Wake up, sleepyhead," Axel said, nudging Roxas's still form where it lay on the couch of the common area. Roxas groaned and squinted up at Axel. He rubbed his eyes, easing himself into a sitting position. _

_"God, what time is it?" Roxas asked, yawning._

_"It's about 3:00 a.m.," Axel replied simply. "The party kinda died down. Don't you want to go to your room?" Roxas had fallen asleep during something of a party amongst the Organization members. Axel had taken it upon himself to make sure Roxas wasn't left all alone in the common area after it was over._

_"How much did I miss?" Roxas inquired sleepily._

_"Sorry kid, but you kinda missed everything," Axel replied grinning_. Too bad he did…it could have been so much more fun…

_Roxas punched Axel's shoulder lightly. "Who are you calling kid?" he half-smiled. "Well, I guess I'd better go up to my room." He attempted to stand, but stumbled slightly. Axel caught his elbow and helped to steady him.  
"Thanks," Roxas murmured, his breath catching at Axel's touch. They made their way up the narrow staircase and down the hallway to the dormitories. Axel stopped at his, and said good night to Roxas, who continued down to his own room. Roxas waved goodbye before entering the room. Axel sighed after Roxas was gone–he missed him even though they were only five doors away. Axel was confused by the strange new feelings he was overcome by each time he thought of Roxas. He pushed his door open and entered the room, hoping the feelings would eventually dissipate._

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Axel

The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was a sickening feeling of dread deep in my stomach. Roxas's hurt expression filled my mind and I pushed myself up into a sitting position. I rubbed my eyes and resolved to tell him my real feelings for him that day. I just couldn't go on any longer being untrue to myself, and ultimately to him.

I dressed, slipping on my gloves last before heading out the door for the morning meeting. I had woken up earlier than normal, and thus had a pretty good chance of not bumping into Roxas on the way down.

Xemnas, of course, was already in the meeting chamber and greeted me coolly. I took my place in one of the many high-backed chairs that filled the vast and cavernous room, and waited as the other Organization members filed in. Roxas was one of the last, and we exchanged glances briefly before he took his seat. I couldn't even guess as to what he was thinking; his face was closed and expressionless. I swallowed and looked away, trying to repress thoughts of his probable rejection of me from my mind. Luckily enough, Xemnas soon called the meeting to order, and I was provided with a distraction that momentarily allowed me to forget my worries.

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Roxas

I was still pissed off at Axel that morning. I tried not to look at him during the meeting, and was careful not to let my emotions show. It was all the more painful to see his distraught expression. All I wanted to do was comfort him, and yet how could I, if he was keeping things from me? I sighed bitterly at my somewhat hypocritical feelings. I suffered through the meeting, barely paying any attention. When it was finally over, I got up from my chair right away and headed for the doorway, trying my best to avoid Axel. But inevitably, I felt someone grab my arm, and whirled around to face him.

"I'm sorry," he began quietly before I could say a word. "I really want to talk you."

"Right now?" I asked, glancing around, and noticing Lexaeus eyeing us suspiciously, as he exited the chamber. But Axel's words did give me some hope.

"No, later, when we have some free time." His green eyes giving me a pleading look that I couldn't resist.

"Okay," I sighed. We then went our separate ways, he to help Xemnas in researching the Heartless, and I to have more experiments performed on me. Supposedly my Other was a very important person. I didn't know exactly why, but I did know that I was one of the few, if not only Organization member with a living Other. Sometimes I wondered if the completion of Kingdom Hearts, and thus getting my heart back would mean the demise of my Other. That often made me question why I continued to do the Organization's bidding. I didn't feel like an evil person, one who would stop at nothing for selfish purposes. But this was what it seemed many of Organization members were like. I did have to admit that as a Nobody, life sure wasn't easy. There was always a dull ache in my chest, an emptiness that yearned to be filled. The only time I ever felt it go away was when I was with Axel…

This was my train of thought as I lay on a table in one of the experimentation rooms, wires taped to my temples and chest. _Axel_…I anxiously awaited whatever it was that he had to tell me. I also wondered why he had suddenly decided to let me in on it, after so adamantly refusing to do so the other day.

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Axel

At last our assignments and missions for the day were over, and so I went to seek out Roxas. I found him playing cards with Luxord, Demyx and Xigbar in the common area. They had apparently convinced him to play poker, but I could tell he wasn't doing so hot. I sat down tentatively in a nearby chair. Demyx noticed me and motioned for me to come over. I shook my head apologetically. Roxas looked over then too, and our eyes connected for a moment. I could tell that he knew what I had come for, and nodded almost imperceptibly before turning back to the game.

"Okay, you guys, we all know you are whooping my ass, so maybe I'll try again some other time." He put his cards down on the table and got up.

"What? You're giving up already?" Xigbar asked jokingly.

"I'm just not in the right mood," he said, glancing quickly at me. There was probably some truth to his words, I thought, my stomach flipping a little. "You guys have fun," he said, and walked over to me. "Where do you want to talk?" he asked in a low voice. Crap, I hadn't really thought about that yet. I had been putting all of my energy into figuring out what exactly I would say. Either of our rooms would be too awkward…the common area wasn't private enough…then I remembered the sitting room at the far end of the dormitory hall. I informed Roxas of this, and he replied, "Alright," a bit hesitantly. We walked up to the dorm hall in an awkward silence. We made our way to the room at the end and entered, each taking a seat in the two chairs opposite each other across a coffee table.

I prepared myself to begin my explanation, but Roxas started us off by saying, "Okay. What have you been keeping from me?"

I took a deep breath before attempting to answer his question. "Well, to start off, it has nothing to do with the Organization."

Roxas looked puzzled.

"I really don't know how to say this…" I trailed off losing confidence. "Roxas, you're my best friend, you know that, right?"

"Yes," he replied haltingly, leaning forward in his chair as if to better hear me.

"It's just that…telling you this might change that…" I wondered absentmindedly if he was catching on at all. "The thing is…I've been…" My heart was now pounding insanely fast. _Just say it! _My mind screamed. "I like you Roxas…as _more _than a friend." And then all I could do was wait for his reaction.

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Roxas

It took a moment for Axel's words to sink in. _More _than a friend…that meant something more along the lines of love! I had shoved all hope that we would ever share something like that to the farthest reaches of my mind, and now that it was right within my grasp, I didn't know how to respond. I stuttered out a measly, "Really?" Now I felt horrible for getting angry with him over this. But I had truly believed it was something completely different. I snapped back to reality at the sight of Axel's still worried expression. I got up from my chair and came over to him. He too rose from his seat.

"Axel, I never thought I would ever be able to say this, but I like you too."

Axel looked somewhat surprised. "You do?" I nodded dumbly as he reached out and grasped my hands, a smile lighting up his face. "I never suspected it," he whispered, shaking his head in awe.

"And to think we were denying this for so long…" I added sofly. I gazed at Axel's face and was flooded by the warmth and joy evident in his expression. This whole experience had completely reignited my feelings for him, and I was overwhelmed by the urge to kiss him. Apparently Axel was experiencing the same thing, for his face was slowly drawing nearer to mine. I closed my eyes and our lips found each other's. We kissed tentatively; this was all so new to us. The kiss was short but sweet and we then pulled each other into a close embrace. I rested my head against his collarbone and sighed contentedly. I could confidently say that this was the best thing to happen to me during my time in the Organization.

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Axel

Everything had gone one hundred times better than I had expected, and that was an extremely pleasant surprise. I guessed that having low expectations did pay off sometimes…

I didn't want to ever let go of Roxas, but I could tell the hug was ending. We drew apart, and Roxas gripped my upper arms. "Thank you," he said softly, his eyes clearly displaying his joy and gratitude.

"No problem," I replied, starting to grin. "You're my best friend."

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Thanks for reading, please don't hesitate to review!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three finally...sorry for the wait...not that anyone was actually waiting...

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Roxas

I woke up with a warm feeling in my stomach and wondered vaguely why I would be so happy. Then I remembered the events of the previous day and a grin spread across my face. I heaved the covers off myself and got out of bed. I dressed, all the while thinking about what Axel and I would do together. I was about to run down the hall to his room when I started to think about what other Organization members might think of us. Everyone knew we were good friends, but…I resigned to just catch up with him at the morning meeting like we normally did.

I glanced at the clock and realized I still had twenty minutes until the meeting began. I sat back down on my bed, cursing myself for getting dressed so quickly. I stared mindlessly at the ceiling for a few minutes until someone knocked on the door. I jumped up, smoothing my hair. "Who is it?" I called, my voice higher than I would have liked.

"It's Axel," came the reply.

I hurried over and opened the door.

"Hey," he said in greeting.

"Hi," I replied, rather breathlessly.

"I just thought I'd stop by since I woke up earlier than normal."

"Ha, so did I!" I commented brightly. Too brightly rather…

"So can I, uh, come in?" Axel asked, scratching his neck.

"Oh, right, of course!" Why could I no longer speak normally?! I mentally groaned.

I let Axel in and shut the door behind him. I suddenly panicked at the sight of my unmade bed and some boxer shorts lying on the floor. But Axel had seen my room like this before–why should it be any different now?

I guess it didn't matter, since he went right ahead and planted himself on my bed, his lanky legs outstretched.

"Well, don't just stand there!" Axel said, and I realized I was still hovering nervously by the door. I came over and placed myself tentatively next to him on my bed.

"That's better," he said grinning, and I couldn't help grinning either.

"I've gotta get used to this," I muttered.

"Used to what?" Axel asked.

I paused before replying sheepishly, "…Us."

"We just need to loosen up," Axel said mischievously.

I looked over at him, my eyebrows raised in question.

"Like this," he said, and began tickling me fiercely. I fell over laughing, trying to claw his hands away. I gained some headway and was even able to get him pinned down, when we heard someone call from the hallway, "What's going on in there, Roxas?"

"Nothing," I called frantically, simultaneously trying to get Axel to stop laughing so loudly. Whoever it was didn't bother to respond, and I jumped off my bed. I then turned to Axel to say, "We'd better get to the meeting then…"

Axel was still recovering from his laughter, but got up from my bed. "You go on," he said. "It would be rather, er–suspicious–if we came out of here together."

My cheeks must have turned bright pink at that thought and I turned quickly towards the door.

"I'll see you, then," I said lamely. I exited my room and took off quickly down the hall for the stairs.

Axel

I waited anxiously on Roxas' bed for a minute or so before deciding the coast was clear. I opened the door slowly, checking the corridor for any passersby, and seeing none, closed the door quickly behind me. I was still grinning stupidly. Thinking of Roxas still gave me butterflies–I had been unsure of how he would react to my early morning visit–but it had all worked out perfectly.

My spirits were so high that I didn't complain when Xemnas sent me to do data work–which I despised–after the morning meeting. I caught up with Roxas again as we were exiting the meeting chamber. I couldn't help smiling as we fell in step together.

"Data duty?" Roxas asked.

"Yep," I replied. "Makes me feel like a damn secretary," I added. Roxas laughed softly. "And more experiments for you?" I asked him.

Roxas frowned slightly before replying. "Yes," he said. "But they say there's going to be something different this time."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," I consoled him. "They can't really hurt you–since we Nobodies can't feel anything anyway."

Roxas looked up at me then and said softly, "I seriously doubt that."

"What?" I asked even though I had heard him perfectly clearly.

"Nothing," he muttered, looking slightly flustered. "Well, I'll see you later," he said. We had arrived at the elevators. He had to go up, I had to go down.

"Bye," I replied, watching as he got onto an elevator and the doors slid closed behind him.

_The same blue eyes…he was falling into them…now seeing out of them._

"I'm looking for my friends, Riku and Kairi…" Roxas spoke, but it was not his voice…

He was slashing through heartless with the Keyblade, and he felt a strange sensation at seeing these hearts that would soon become part of Kingdom Hearts at such close range…if only he could reach out and take one for himself…

Roxas

I nudged Axel, who awoke with a start. I suppressed a giggle – he had dozed off during a quick meeting in the common area, after our day of work was over. Xemnas was rambling about how we needed to put in more effort. I looked around the room and noticed that nearly everyone else looked ready to fall asleep. Xaldin looked particularly angry, and Demyx was drooling.

Finally Xemnas let us go, and most of us stayed in the common area to play cards and relax. Demyx went off into the corner to play his sitar, Luxord, as usual, started up a game of Blackjack, and Xigbar and Xaldin were playing darts.

"What do you feel like doing?" Axel asked me.

I didn't tell him that I really wanted to be alone with him at that moment. Instead I shrugged and said, "Whatever you want to do."

"I kind of want to eat…" Axel said sheepishly. Food was strange for us. Nobodies don't need food to survive, but I guess that our vague memories from our others cause us to sometimes crave food. So Xemnas was kind enough to concoct virtual food that didn't actually exist. It was stored in something of a kitchen area, open for anyone who felt like eating.

"Sure, sounds good," I replied, so we headed off to the kitchen room.

Axel opened a cupboard and rummaged around until he found some chocolate. He took it out and broke off two pieces, handing one to me, and putting the other in his mouth.

I nibbled my piece and was surprised by the taste. "Did Xemnas alter this? Because it tastes much better than it normally does."

"Yeah, you're right, it's really good," Axel said around his mouthful. "I wonder how close it is to the real thing."

His words reminded me of what I had experienced earlier today. The experiments had finally caused me to see my other and I had painfully remembered how my existence–and the existence of all other Nobodies was never supposed to be.

"It's only as close to the real thing as we are," I muttered, finishing off my chocolate.

Axel licked his lips, having finished his piece. I felt something flutter inside me when he did that. He must have seen me watching him, for he came over to me, a strange look in his eyes. He took my hand, and stared down at me for a moment, hesitating. I inched forward, turning my face up toward his, and at last our lips met. I felt his other hand on my lower back, and I pulled him closer to me, kissing him hungrily. But then I felt his mouth move away from mine and stop at my ear. "Let's go up to my room before someone comes."

I nodded against him, and we went out through the other door of the kitchen, so as to bypass the common area. It seemed to take ages to get to Axel's room, all the while stealing glances at each other. Finally we reached his room, and once again began kissing, falling onto his bed. My hands found their way to his chest, and I began unzipping his coat. Axel did the same to me, our arms fumbling around each other. We shoved the coats off the bed, and continued kissing, not only each other's lips, but faces, necks, hair. Neither of us knew what we were doing, but we allowed our passion to guide us.


	4. Chapter 4

These final two chapters are short because it didn't make sense to keep them together. Anyway, on with the story!

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"Come _on_, Axel!" I said for the thousandth time, yanking him up off the couch.

"Alright, alright," Axel grumbled, but I knew he was only feigning reluctance. Since we had been let out of our missions early, I thought now would be a perfect time to show him what I had discovered. He didn't seem to be in the mood for adventure, but I didn't know when I'd have another chance to show him.

"This had better be interesting," Axel said, as I tugged him along towards the elevators.

"Oh, it will be," I replied, flashing him a grin.

"Now what's that supposed to mean?" he asked, throwing me a mischievous look.

"You'll see…" I replied, smiling to myself. I swung Axel's hand back and forth as we walked towards the floating staircases that led out of the castle.

We soon reached the exit and walked down the long ramp that led into the dark, deserted city. The squirming heartless that normally roamed the streets kept well out of our sight, since they had no desire to be near Nobodies like us. I led Axel down alleyways and around dilapidated buildings, occasionally stopping to check that I was going the right way.

"You said this would be interesting," Axel complained.

"We're getting there!" I responded, looking up at Axel's bored expression.

"Whatever you say…" Axel said. I twined my arm around his waist and said softly, "I know you'll like it." Axel seemed to capitulate at my touch, and I smiled triumphantly.

I then led him down a narrow street, over a chain link fence, and to a rickety spiral staircase. It took a good minute or two to reach the top, which was, in fact, the roof of a crumbling building. But from the roof, we had a perfect view of the pulsating heart-shaped moon that cast its eerie light over the entire World That Never Was.

Axel gasped. I looked up at his astonished face and knew he was pleased.

"How did you find this?" he asked in wonder.

"It was in a dream…" I replied softly. "I don't know how I knew, but I wanted to see if it was real."

"That's remarkable…" Axel said, still apparently dazzled by the view. I slipped my hand into his once again, and he turned to me then. "I'm sorry I was so ornery before," he said, a lopsided grin on his face.

"You can make it up to me now," I proposed, moving closer to him. Axel caught on quickly, wrapping his arms around my waist, and swinging me around. I let out a squeal of laughter, clinging tight to his neck. When he set me down, we kissed, finally able to display our affections without fear of being discovered.

But suddenly I was bombarded by a vivid torrent of images. I was seeing out of Sora's eyes again – there was a desert, an ocean, a jungle, a ship, a graveyard, a tower…one after the other, images of different worlds flew through my mind. I felt this strange fear of loss…was Sora or one of his friends in imminent danger? I never found out, for as soon as it had come, it was over, and I broke away from Axel.

"What's wrong?" he immediately asked.

"I had another vision," I said grimly.

"Sora?" Axel asked, even though he knew the answer.

I nodded. "Something was wrong that time…but I don't know what."

"Well, hopefully you'll quit having these…visions soon," Axel said, obviously wanting to get back to what we were doing before…

"Axel, you have to understand, I'm connected to Sora, and that bond will never go away! Unless either of us dies…"

Axel sighed, but I continued; this was a very important subject for me. "I wish I knew him…what he was like…what he's doing–"

"Yeah, okay, whatever."

I immediately stopped at the sight of Axel's irritated expression. "Sounds like you're in love with _him_," he grumbled.

"Sorry, I'm sorry, I'll shut up about him!" I hurried to say. I then gave him a seductive grin and said softly, "You _know_ I'm in love with _you_."

"That's more like it," Axel replied, and his wish was fulfilled as we got back to what we had been doing…

_There he was again…or rather, there _I_ was, but I knew I was seeing through him. He was fighting someone he didn't want to be fighting…one of his friends, but in a different form. Who were all these people? Who were his friends, his enemies? There was this yawning hole deep inside me that I just _knew_ I could fill…if only I could find him. Find out why the keyblade had chosen me, discover who I really was…_


	5. Chapter 5

The final chapter...

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Roxas

We sat on the rooftop of a dilapidated building in the city. The spot with the view of the moon had become our special place to go whenever we had free time. Except this time we did not come because we had nothing to do. In fact, there was something very important that I had to do, but I dreaded it so intensely that I could hardly talk. Axel seemed to notice my quietness and anxiety. He looked closely at me, and reached out to take my hand where it lay in my lap. I glanced up at Axel then, my stomach writhing uncomfortably and forced a smile. But I couldn't bear to look at him for long, and instead looked up towards the blanket of stars overhead. This was going to be _the_ most difficult thing I had ever had to do in my short existence in this world. I could still feel Axel's gaze up on me, and turned back to look at him. He must have noticed my unusually sad expression and said hesitantly, "I feel like there's something we need to talk about."

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Axel

Roxas didn't respond right away and I was afraid that I had gone too far. But then Roxas looked up again and opened his mouth to speak. "I have to go," he said, so quietly I could barely make it out.

"Go where?" I asked impulsively, but I instantly knew what Roxas was implying. I should have seen this coming I thought to myself, as I felt my throat tightening.

"To find my other," he replied. He placed his other hand on top of mine, and looked down, apparently unable to hold my gaze.

"But you can't leave…the Organization will destroy you if you betray them," I said, almost in a whisper. I realized at once how desperate I sounded. But then I saw that Roxas had looked down to hide his tears. I could just make out the glimmer of dampness on his cheek. "I'm sorry," he murmured, and I could tell he truly was. "It's just that I'll never rest until I find him."

I didn't know what to say. I had seen this coming, what with Roxas's recurring visions of Sora, and his puzzlement at why the keyblade had chosen him. But it had never occurred to me that he would actually decide to leave. And now that he had made up his mind, there was nothing I could do to change it.

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Roxas

"It wasn't an easy decision," I sniffled, trying to rub my face dry and finally looking at Axel through bleary eyes. Axel took my hand and brought it to his cheek, which was now also being dampened by tears. He closed my eyes and wrap my arms around him in a tight embrace. He rested his head on my shoulder, and we let ourselves cry onto each other for a while. He then cupped my tear stained face in his hands and began to kiss it. I responded by twining my arms around his neck and kissing his mouth almost frantically. I made sure that his taste would linger on my lips for days afterwards.

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Axel

I could smell the rain even before it came. After watching Roxas depart through a black swirling portal, I had gone back to our rooftop spot. I had stared out at the heart-shaped moon for hours, letting my tears pour out of me. I nearly laughed when the rain finally began to fall. Were the heavens mocking me? I wondered bitterly. I removed a glove and held my palm open to catch the droplets as they fell. I stared at the miniscule explosions and nearly unconsciously began to send fire energy into my hand. The rain then began to sizzle as it hit my palm, and before long, steam was rising from it. Soon there was a cloud of vapor in front of me, and for the briefest of moments, I was almost certain that I had seen Roxas's face.

"Goodbye," I whispered to the mirage as it dissipated into the eternally cold air. And it truly was goodbye.


End file.
